another trick to upgrading. When I bought my house we asked to have the fridge, washer, and dryer included instead of asking for money to cover needed repairs, which were easy for a DIY project. We got really nice appliances and it was much cheaper than than buying new ones.

Karen

I do upgrade my cell phone every 2 years, which is not that much with a contract, depending on the phone of course. If you run into problems & need a phone replaced under contract, it gets difficult as they get older, because they give you refurbished phones in your model that don’t really work. I’m having that problem now with my phone. When the contract renews in January I’ll get a new model.

It is easier to keep an older car if you don’t have to use it every day & there’s another car in the household. When I was a single parent driving an older car many miles a week to work & kids’ schools/activities that was tough, as it was the only car we had. My 2006 van was in the shop this week for repairs & I was able to use by boyfriend’s car when needed, as we both work from home~ makes life much easier. I’ll keep this car until the repairs start costing too much.

Saving for those big ticket items is getting more and more difficult, though: how long do you have, how much will “it” cost, etc.